80 people missing after blaze in Swiss tunnel

As many as 80 people are feared missing inside a Swiss road tunnel after a collision between two trucks caused a huge underground fire yesterday.

So far, 10 people have been confirmed dead since the crash in the 10-mile Gotthard Tunnel, the second-longest road tunnel in the world.

Rescuers started recovering bodies today, but their efforts are being hampered by the heat and the collapse of part of the tunnel roof.

Firefighters made three attempts overnight to extinguish the fire, but all failed.

Special equipment was then brought in to lower the temperatures to enable firemen to get closer to the blaze.

The rescuers have already located the bodies of nine men and one woman.

Nearly all had died from suffocation. Hundreds more people managed to escape from the tunnel on foot after abandoning their vehicles following the crash.

Meanwhile, the traffic chaos caused by the crash was worsened today when the San Bernardino pass, the nearest Alpine route to the Gotthard Tunnel, was closed following another collision between a truck and a bus.

The bus driver was killed in the accident, while the truck driver managed to escape.

Gotthard and San Bernardino are the two main Alpine routes in southern Switzerland and their closure has caused huge delays for motorists travelling between Italy and Germany.